Flat knitting machine



NOV. 26, 1935. w HUG FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 15, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY INVENTOR Vl f/h'czm //0 @x .m\\ R 05 um I 8 mm m H m hr w @N Q Ww Nov. 26, 1935. w. HUG

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE FiledNov. 15, 1955 4 Sheets -She'et 2 Q & o

INVENTOR" Wz/[mm Hug BY sskfiom'av L Nov, 26, 1935. w u 2,022,468

FLAT KNITTINGMACHINE Filed No). 15, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE 2,022,468, FLAT KNITTING mom William Hug, cum... N. J. Application November 15, 1933, Serial No. 698,080

lz Claims. (01. 66-126) This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in fiat knitting machines and specifically to the operatingrand control mechanisms for the thread carriersand slur cocks.

only and not both the slur cocks andthread carriers as in the present practice. The thread carriers are operated by a separate cam and separate operating levers which permit of independent regulation and control of. either of these mechanisms without affecting the operation of the other. This makes it possible to maintain between carriers and sinkers the very desirable condition ofa uniform lead of any desired amount, irrespective of the fact that the slur cocks necessarily travel an unvarying distance, whereas the travel of the thread carriers necessarily varies in knitting diiferent parts of the stockings.

The thread carriers are positively driven, the

usual friction drive being eliminated. This greatly reduces the strain upon-the machine, reduces vibration, and decreases the power required to operate it. Also the usual shock absorbers and safety levers are unnecessary, all excessive shock and likelihood of rebounding of the carrier rods being prevented by this invention. Plating may be done without a plating attachment through the regular thread carrier mechanism provided.

The thread carriers'when'at rest are accurately held between the sinkers thus reducing: needle breakage and defective fabric. Manualmove- V ment of the thread carriers is-largely eliminated, the new mechanism being-automatic to a much greater extent than present mechanisrna. The,

devices which control the travel of the carrier rods are concentrated in one part of the machine instead of being distributed over the entire length of the machine which greatly facilitates adjustment, reduces the danger of error and thusassists greatly in maintaining maximum production and quality of fabric.

These and other advantages are derived from this invention, one form of which is described onthe line lilo-l in Fig. 9;

i 2, operates the usualpitman 3, lever 4' and crossthe narrowing head and mechanisms controlled thereby; e

Fig. 8 is an end view of the operating cam mechanism of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow 8;

Fig. 9 is aview ofithe'same mechanism in sec- 3 tion on the line 9-9,of Fig.1; I

Fig.10 is a, view of the coulier cam. and associ-. atedparts from the front of the machine taken Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration of a part 1.0 of a stocking blank; g

Fig. 12 is a detailed view of the drive blocks and two associated carrier rod blocks of Fig. 1 located at the left end of Fig. 1; g

Fig. 13 is a detailed view partly in section of a carrier rod .block'and finger; ,and l Fig. 14 is a detailed sectional view of two carrier rod fingers with their adjustable stops and of a section of a carrier rod with-itsstop along the line Il -Moi Fig. 13.

The slur cock motion'is not afiectedby this invention with theenception that its separation from thethread carrier motion permits of alteringthe outline jot-the coulier cam so that the slur cocks may be'caused to approach the jacks at less speed thus. reducing the shock and wear upon them. As will be seen the machine is provided a with the usual coulier cam I which, with rollers head ito cause slur cock bar 6 and slur cocks I to reciprocate over an unvarying distance sumcient to cause the slur cocks to operate properly upon all the jacks. V l In present flatknitting machines the same coulier cam and levers are also employed tooperate the thread'carrier rods. In this invention the thread carrier ro'ds are manipulated by a separate carriercam 8 on the coulier cam shaft 9. This cam operatesthrough separate rollers 40 I0, pitman II, and levers l2 and I3 to reciprocaterod l4 ordinarily employed to drive the frictions. In present machines rod ll like the slur cock bar i'travels a uniform' distance at each reciprocation, whereas the travel of the carrier rods driven thereby varies considerably. To make this possible the machine is provided with stops adapted to limit the travelof the carrier rods as required, and the carrierrods are connected to the friction rod throughthewell known frice tion boxes. Such a friction drive not only places a heavy strain uponthe machine and driving 'mechanism, particularly when several carrier rods are in simultaneous operation, but it also carriers are improperly spaced from the needles and sinkers. In addition, if oil or moisture happens to accumulate upon the friction rod, the amount of friction will vary and the inevitable wear of either rod or friction or both produces the same result. I

This friction drive has been completely eliminated by this invention and a wholly difierent and more positive drive employed. On rod I4 are rigidly mounted drivingbiocks I5, I6, I1, and I8. Slidably mounted on rod I4 are carrier rod blocks I9, 20, 2|, 22, 23, and 24 provided with a finger 25, 26, 21,28, 29, and respectively, overlying the carrier rods 3|, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and 31. Carrier rod blocks I9 and 20 are positioned adjacent each other on rod I4 and to the left of fixed driving block I5. Carrier rod block 2| is positioned to the right of fixed driving block I6. Attached to carrier rod blocks I9 and 20 are cables 38 and 39 respectively, which pass over pulleys 40 and 4| and terminate in weights 42 and 43. A cable 44 is similarly attached to carrier rod block 2| and passes over a pulley 45 to a weight 46. Thus carrier rod blocks I9 and 20 will normally be urged to the right against fixed block I5 under the influence of weights 42 and 43 and carrier rod block 2| will be urged to the left under the influence of weight 46. It will be evident therefore that when rod I4 is reciprocated blocks I5 and I6 fixed thereto will move with it and carrier rod blocks I9, 20 and 2| will normally follow suit either being driven ahead of a fixed block or following a fixed block through the action of a weight. Similarly on the other side of the machine at found fixed driving blocks I1 and I8 rigidly attached to rod I4 and another set of three slidable carrier rod blocks 22, 23 and 24 of which block 22 is normally urged to the left against fixed block I1 through the effect of a weight 41 attached thereto by a cable 48 passing over a pulley 49. Carrier block 23 is also urged to the left against carrier block 22 under the urge of weight 50 connected thereto by a cable 5| passing over a pulley 52 and carrier block 24 is normally urged to the'right against fixed block I8 under the urge of a weight 53 acting through cable 54 which passes over a pulley 55. Therefore when rod I4 reciprocates the carrier blocks 22, 23, and 24 will also reciprocate correspondingly either being driven ahead of fixed blocks I1 or I8 or caused to follow by weights 41, 50 or 53. It will also be evident that if a finger, 25 for example, is in some way connected to a carrier rod the carrier rod will also be reeiprocated carrying with it the thread carrier (not shown).

A suitable driving connection between these parts is provided as follows. Each finger is equipped with a number of adjustable stop pins,

best shown in Figs. 13'and 14 overlying certain of the carrier rods and adapted to be slid into the path of stops fixed on the carrier rods. For example, in Fig. l finger 25 is provided with four such stop pins 54*, 55, 56, and 51 overlying oarrier rods 3| 33, 35, and 36 respectively, and these carrier rods are equipped with corresponding stops 58, 59, 60, and 6| positioned to the right of the finger 25. Similarly finger 26 is provided with four stop pins 62, 63, 64, and 65 overlying the same rods and adapted to engage, respectively, with stops 66, 61, 68, and 69. Finger 21 is provided with three stop pins 10, 1| and 12 engageable, respectively, with stops 13, 14, and 15 on the other three carrier rods 32, 34, and 31. Since each pin may be engaged or disengaged at will any of the four carrier rods 3|, 33, 35, and 36 may be engaged with a stop pin on finger 25 or 26, or both, and any of the other thread carrier rods 32, 34, and 31 may be engaged with a stop pin on finger 21. 5 Fingers 28, 29, and 30 at the other end of the machine require no stop pins for reasons which will become apparent. They are so positioned, however, that finger 28 is engageable with stops 16, 11, and 18 on rods 33, 35 and 36 10 respectively, finger 29 with stops 19, and 8I on the same rods and also with stop 82 on rod 3|, and finger 30 with stops 82, 83 and 84 on rods 32, 34 and 31. By means of the carrier rod stops and stop pins described above the six 15 fingers 25, 26, 21, 28, 29, and 30 move the carrier rods back and forth in the manner required for laying the thread during the knitting of the various parts of the stocking.

In order that carrier rod stops 58, 59, 60, and 20 6| may pass under carrier finger 26 as is required at certain points in the knitting, finger than stops 58-6I so that they can engage with the stop pins 6265 of higher finger 26. See

Fig. 14.

Similarly finger28 is in a higher position than finger 29 so that carrier rod stops 19-82 may pass thereunder without-striking finger 28, and carrier rod stops 1618 are also higher than stops 1982 so that they can engage with finger 28.

The extreme movement of the carrier rods' is limited, as in present machines by stop levers 85, 86, 81, 88, 89, 90, and 9| pivotally mounted upon a shaft 92 at one end of the machine and stop levers 93, 94, 95, 86, 91, 98, and 99 pivotally 40 mounted upon a shaft I00 at the other end. Thus any one or any number of them may be swung out of the way and the corresponding thread carriers moved by hand completely out of the field of operation by manually sliding the end of the carrier rod into the space vacated by the stop lever. Stop levers -9I and 93-99, as is well known, are carried by the narrowing heads at each end of the machine, the shaft upon which they pivot being mounted upon an internally 5Q.

threaded nut or block IOI (Fig. 7) which engag;s with a threaded spindle I02. By rotating spindle I02 the stop levers may be moved inwardly or outwardly and the travel of the thread carriers correspondingly limited. narrowing operation the stop levers 859I and 93-99 are automatically moved inwardly by mechanism linked to the narrowing mechanism at a rate corresponding to the decreasing width of the fabric and the distance of travel of the 60 threadcarriers involved progressively lessened.

This mechanism is standard in present day machines. It is employed in this invention not only for its original'purpose as described above but also in connection with novel features. At- 65 tached to block |0I is a cable I03 which runs around a pulley I04 to a stop block I05 sliding upon a rod I 06, longitudinally and rigidly mounted upon the machine frame. Cable I03 is held taut by a spring I01 attached to a stop block I05 and to the frame of the machine so that at any movement of block IOI through the rotation of spindle I02 stop block I05 will move a corresponding amount. However, because of the arrangement of cable I03 the motion of stop block 75 During the 55- I05 will be in the opposite direction to that of block IOI. Hence when block W is racked inwardly while the machine is narrowing stop block I05 will be moved outwardly the same distance. As will be seen from Fig. 1 carrier. rod block 22 is provided with a 'lug I06 engageable with stop block I 05 so that the movement of carrierrod block 22 to the left may be limited by stop block I65." The purpose of this ar- 10 rangement will be described later. On the other end of the machine is a similar arrangement to that shown in Fig. 7 arranged to operate in the Opposite direction. This narrowing head isnot shown in the drawings nor the pulley corresponding to pulley I04 but the cable;

sliding stop block, and restraining spring are shown in Fig. l at I09, H0, and I I I respectively.

Carrier rod block is provided with a lug II2" engageable with stop block H0 so that the in- 20 ward travel of carrier rod block 20 may be limitd by the position of stop block H0 ina manner similar to that in which stop block I05 at the other end of the machine may ,limit the travel of carrier rod block 22. g

The function and operation of the parts described above can best be described in connection with the knitting of the various parts of a stocking such as' that diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 11. I In Fig. 1 the machine is shown arranged for the knitting of the leg. Since'only one thread carrier is required for knitting this part of the stocking carrier rod. 36 has been selected. Stop lsvers 85, 61, and 66 on the left are thrown up and $5 the corresponding carrier rods 3|, 33, and are pushed to the left out of knitting position. Similarly on the right stop levers 64, 66, and 66 are thrown up and carrier rods 32, 64, and 31 pushed over to the'rightout of knitting position. 40 Stops 90 and 98 are down in operative position and the left end of carrier rod 36 rests against Stop pins'5l and 65 on carrier fingers 251 and 26 respectively, are in operative position to engage with stops 6i and 66 on carrier rod 36.

All the other stop pins on carrier fingers 25, 26,

and 21 are in their inoperative position. Stops I6 and 6I on the right end of carrier rod 36 are in engagement with the left side of carrier fingers 26 and 26. Thus carrier rod 36 is held between endstop 60 on the left and fingers 26 and 26 on the right. There; is, however, a small clearance between carrier fingers 25 and 26 and the respective carrier rod stops 6| and 66. There is alsothe same clearance between carrier rod 66 block 22 and drive block I I due to the fact that stops I6 and 6I and stop block I05 have prevented finger 26 from following driveblock H to its extreme left position. Thus the carrier rod is 'operatively separated by a small space 70 from the coulier cam and its connectingmechanism and is, consequently, unaffected by any slight motion of those parts. This and the fact that the carrier rod is held between stops insures that the thread carrier will be maintained'in 75 proper relation to the sinkers at the end of each stroke and cannot possibly rebound or otherwise move out of correct position. The thread carriers on rod 36 are diagrammatically shown at II3 to the right of the corresponding slur cock I. Since the slur cocks and thread carriers" are 5 operated by different cams and leversjthe timing and relation of their movements can be varied at will. For example, theslur cocks may be made to approach the end jacks at low' speed thus obtaining a very desirable reduction in the 10 wear upon these jacks and a smoother sinker movement and at the same time the, thread carrier may be in faster motion, under control of v its separate operating mechanism so that when the slur cocks reach the jacks the desired lead 15 between the slur cocks and thread carriers has been established after which this same lead may be maintained throughout the knitting stroke.

Assume nowthat the coulier and carrier cams I and 6 have madeone-half revolution from the 20 positions shown in Fig.1 so that the slur cocks and carrier fingers have been transported to their extreme rightposition as shown in Fig. 2. Car rier rod 36 ha'salso been shifted to the. right carrying its thread carrier with-it by carrier'fing5 gers 25 and 26, acting against carrier rod stops 6| and 66, but the carrier rod is securelyheld between end stop 66 and fingers 25 and 26. vAlso the original clearance between drive block I] and carrier block 22. has been transferred to between 3; drive block I5 and carrier block 20, the tendency of carrier block 20 to follow drive block I5 having been interrupted by stops 6| and 66 and block I I0. Thus at this end of the carrier rod stroke also the carrier rodis isolated fromthe effect of any small movement of the cams and connections which might throwthe thread carrier out of its correct position with respect to the sinkers. From the point of view of the following stroke the parts assume exactly the same relation." The next 40 stroke will, of course,'return the parts to the positions shown in Fig. 1 and so on until the leg of the stocking shown in Fig. 11 is completed as far as'the broken line A--A where the narrowing is assumed to begin. v v 5 When narrowing, the narrowing heads function in their customary manner, stop levers 85 to 6i and 63 to 66 carried by nut I M and the. corresponding nut at the other end of the machine being racked inwardly step by step in time with 50 the positioning of the narrowing points. This step by step inward movement produces an equivalent' step by step outward movement of stop blocks I05 and I III with the result that the travel oi. carrier fingers 26 and 26 will be correspondingly shortened. The relative positions of the' parts remains as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but the whereas the tendency of the fingers to follow the blocks under the urge of the weights attached thereto is'arrested when'lugs H2 and I 06 engage stop blocks H0 and I05 respectively, this occurring at progressively earlier periodsiin the strokes v of the carrier rod throughout the narrowing. 70

One of the important results of this is that the thread carriersf instead of beginning to move when theslur cocks start do not move until the clearances between the carrier drive blocks have been closed so that the lead between the slur cocks and thread carriers remains the same throughout. 1 It is well known that the progressively increasing lead resulting from narrowing which cannot be avoided in present day machines is very undesirable and the cause of much imperfect knitting. It will now be assumed that the stocking has been completed as far as the broken line B-B in Fig. 11 atwhich point the knitting of the heel tabs begins. From this point to that at which the knitting of the instep is discontinued (indicated by the broken line C--C in 'Fig. 11) three thread carriers are, of course, required, one which may be the original carrier upon rod 36 which will continue to lay the thread the full width of -the narrowed stocking, and two others, one for each heel'tab. These will be assumed to be attached to carrier rods 35 and 34. See Figs. 3 and 4. v

Carrier rod 36 and its driving mechanisms requires no readjustment of any sort. It continues to propel its thread carrier across the width of the narrowed fabric as described above. Rod 35 it will be assumed bears the auxiliary thread carrier for the right heel tab of Fig. 11 and rod 34 the auxiliary thread carrier for the left heel tab. Since in Figs. 1-6 the machine is being viewed from the rear the thread carrier mechanisms will appear in the reverse position in these figures, the thread carriers functioning on the right operating on the left heel tab and vice Versa. This method of description which follows the custom of the trade should be borne in mind during the following discussion to avoid confusion.

The travel of carrier rods 35 and 34 will, of course, be reduced to' that sufllcient to cause their thread carriers to traverse the width of the respective heel tabs only. To efiect this carrier fingers 25 and 26 are utilized to drive rod 35 and fingers 21 and 30 to drive rod 34. Also adare either automatically or manually controlled so that they may be positioned at any desired point longitudinal-of the machine. Carrier rod 35 also bears an additional stop I I so positioned that it will strike arm H3 when carrier rod 35 has completed its travel to the right. Carrier rod 34 is also provided with a similar stop H6 so positioned that it will strike arm H4 when rod 34 has traveled a similar distance to the left, the distance in each case being that traversed by the thread carrier in laying down the reenforcing thread for each heel tab. In Fig. 3 the thread carrier mechanism is shown at the end ofits stroke to the left as in Fig. 1. However, in Fig. 3 since carrier rods 35 and 34 will be used in addition to carrier rod 36, stop levers 88 and 83 at one end, and 96 and 91 at the other end have been thrown down into operating position, and rod 35 bears against end stop 89. Stop pin 56 on carrier finger 25 has also been pushed down into operative position so as to be engageable with stop 60. Carrier rod 34 has been moved to the left until stop H6 strikes arm H4 and stop 14 strikes stop pin H on finger 21. Rods 36, 35 and 34 are now in position to lay a course from left to right for the knitting on the upper portion of the heel tabs and the intermediate instep portion. When the carrier rod driving mechanism makes its stroke to the. right towards the position shown in Fig. 4 carrier fingers 25 and 26 first move to close the gap between them and stops 6| and 60 and 69 and 68, and then move rods 36 and 35 to the right, rod 36 being driven by stop pin 65 on finger 26 and rod 35 by stop pin 56 on finger 25. Rod

ditional stop arms H3 and H4 are provided which 35, however, after its thread carrier has -traversed the width of the right heel tab will strike, by meansofits stop H5, fixed stop H3. Since this rod is driven .by carrier finger25 under the pull of weight 43 finger 25 will also stop, the other fingers 26 and 21 continuing on without it. Since the pull-of weight 43 is constant upon finger 25 rod 35 will at the end of the stroke to the right be held between that finger andstop finger H3.

During the same stroke to the right rod 34 has been driven to the right a similar distance until it strikes end stop lever 96. This is accomplished by carrier finger 30 which after traversing the gap shown in Fig. 3 between it and stop 83 at theright end of rod 34 strikes stop. 83 and by means of it carries the rod to the right until, as already stated, it hits vend stop 36 against which it is held by finger acting on turn stroke. When this occurs rod is'driven 30 back to the left by finger 28, which engages with stop 11. Rod 34 is returned to the left by finger 21 which engages and propels stop 14, and rod 36 is returned as alreadydescribed, by carrier finger 29 operating upon stop 8|, the parts re- 35 suming at the end of the stroke the positions shown in Fig. 3., Through repeated strokes of this character the upper part of the heel tabs and interveninginstep portion. of the stocking are knit, that is .to say, the section lying between 49 broken lines B"-B and C,C of Fig. 11. The lead between the slur cocks and thread carriers still remains. the same for the reasons. already stated.

There remains the completing and the knitting of a number of raveling courses following the completion of the instep before the stocking is transferred from the legger to the footer. To carry out these operations five thread carriers are required,two for each heel tab, and 4 one for the intermediate raveling courses.- See. Figs. 5 and.6. Rods 35 and 34 which are already working on the heel tabs .will be continued and rod 36 which has already carried the thread of which the leg has been knr-. -into the upper portion of each heel tab may be continued as the other carrier for one of the heel tabs, say the right heel tab. .In addition another rod, 32, its carrier threaded with the same sort of thread as the carrier of rod 36 will be 0 also an additional stop I25 on carrier rod 36. The

end stops corresponding to the carrier rods in operation will, of course, also be thrown down into operative position.

The position of the carrier rods and related parts atthe beginning of the stroke to the right 15 of 'the heel tabs 5.

is shown in Fig. 5. Upon this stroke rod 36, now working upon the right heel tab is driven to the a right by finger 25, acting upon stop 6| through stop pin 51 which is pushedv down. Its companion rod 35 is also driven to the right the same distance by finger 25 by means of stop .pin 56 and stop 60. Working upon the left heel tab rod 34 is driven to the right by finger 30 acting upon stop 83 until it is stopped by endstop 36. Rod 32 also working upon the left heel tab is driven to the right the same'distance by finger 30 acting upon stop 82. The distance traveled a by each of these rods is only that required for the heel tabs. Rod -3I, however, must travel the greater distance of the instep raveling courses and must lay the threadonly. between the inner edges of the heel tabsinstead of entirely across the fabric as heretofore. For this reason stop I23 on rod 3| is so positioned that when the rod is positioned at the extreme left as shown in Fig.

. 5 finger 26 which will drive it through stop 66 will not make contactwith stop 66 until rods 36, 35, 34 and 32 have completed their strokes. Then finger 26 continues to move until stop I24 on rod 3I strikes fixed stop II4., The distance between stops H3 and II 4 is, of course, equal to the width of the instep.

The parts are now in the position shown in Fig. 6 and ready for the return stroke to the left. Rod 3| is the first to' bemoved. This is accomplished by finger 29 acting against stop 82 to drive the rod until stop I23 strikes fixed stop arm II3., This completes the instep raveling course. Meanwhile arm 21 has moved up to stops 13 and I4 on carrier rods 32 and 34 and arm 28 has moved up to stops I1 and I8 on rods 35 and 36 and these fingers continue on to drive these four rods back to their original positions against the end stops at the-left shown in Fig. 5.

The three knitting movements described will be sufilcient tomake the method of operation of the invention clear to those skilled in the art.-, It will be understood that the arrangement of carrier rods selected for the various.v operations described may be varied to suit the desires and convenience of the knitter and that the arrangement of stops and stop pins shown may also be varied and added to as need arises.

'so that they can slide freely without any twisting strains; that the rods as they travel and particularly at their rest positions at the end of each stroke are held between stops and physically separated from their driving gear so that they cannot be jarred or otherwise moved out of correct position and cannot assume an incorrect position through the displacement of the driving mechanism, a common occurrencewith the old friction drive; that the lead between thread carriers and slur cocks is maintained at a constant amount irrespective of the part of the fabric being knit and that the slur cock and thread carrier actions since they are independent, can each be made to operate to best advantage. This feature is of particular value at the beginning and end of the strokes since the speed of the slur cocks can be reduced to cause them to strike the end jacks with less violence while the speed of the thread carrier motion can be made great enough to establish the desired lead when the slur cocks reach the jacks.

Certain details remain to be described.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged'diagrammatic sectional view of drive block I5 and carrier rod blocks I9 formed by the sinkers.

- fastened to rod I4 whereas carrier rod blocks I3 and 20 are-slidablymounted upon rod I4. Block I9 is provided with spring bumpersor shock absorbers 200 and 2M. Each consists of apiston 5 202 slidably mounted in the block terminating in a head 203 which faces carrier block 20. Within a recess 204 in block I9 is a spring 205 surrounding the stem 206 of piston-202 which tends to urge head 203 to the'right as far as permitted by nuts 201 ,on the. other endof the stem. Similar shock absorbers 201 and 208 are provided for drive block I5 but acting against carrier block 20 in the opposite direction. Whenever during the knitting carrier block 20 is separated 15 from block I8 or block I5 from block contact is temporarily maintained between the heads of these shock absorbers so that the blocksare not abruptly pulled apart but the separation is eflected gradually. Conversely when the blocks come 20 together again, contact is first made by the heads of the shock absorbers and actual contact of the blocks resisted somewhat by the springs so that the shock is greatlylessened. Thisgreatly improves the smoothness of working of the thread carriers and lessens the wear upon the I8 and carrier rod block-23 respectively, so that these blocks and carrier rod blocks 22 and 23 are also protected against undue shock.

Emphasis has been placed upon the maintenance of an unvarying lead between the slur cocks and thread carriers. This, as is now evi- 40 dent, is made possible by the elastic-coupling between the drive blocks and carrierrod blocks maintained by the weightswhich make is possible to time the starting and stopping ofvthe carrier rods without regard to the status of the driving gear. However, it is necessary at times to change the amount-of lead. For example,

- when plating the lead should be much shorter for the plating thread so that it will be held directly above the otherthread when the loops are This is easily accomplished by this invention. Each of the carrier rod stops, as will be seen from Fig..l4, consists of a block 2I2 fixed to the carrier rod and a screw 2I3 threaded. therethrough, the head of which acts as the actual stop. By turning this screw in or out the position of the stop upon the rod is changed in one direction or the other. The effect of thisis tomove the thread carrier towards or away from itsslur cock, in other words, to decrease or increase the lead.

It will be understood that the shapes, construction and arrangement of the machine and its parts shown herein may be varied greatly without exceeding the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a flat knitting machine having slur cocks, carrier rods and an operating rod for the thread carrier rods; means for reciprocating said operat- 'ing rod, a drive block fixed to said operating rod,

and an operating rod for reciprocating the thread carrier rods; means for reciprocating said operating rod, a drive block fixed to said operating rod, and means for operating said carrier rods slidably mounted on said operating rod, means for yieldably holding said operating means against said drive block, and means for separating said operating means from said drive block at any desired point of the reciprocation of said operating rod within thev limits of variation of carrier rod travelprovided for narrowing.

3. In a fiat knitting machine having a slur cock bar, an operating rod; and carrier rods, means slidably mounted on said operating rod for operating 'said carrier rods, means for reciprocating said operating rod, means fixed 'to said operating rod for moving said carrier rod operating means in one direction, and means attached to said carrier rod operating means for moving it in the opposite direction.

4. In a fiat knitting machine having thread carrier rods and a coulier cam shaft provided with a cam; carrier rod operating mechanism comprising a drive rod reciprocable by said cam, a block slidably mounted on said drive rod, a drive block fixed to said drive rod so as to drive said siidable block in one direction when said drive rod is moved in that direction, means attached to said siidable block to drive it in the other direction when said drive rod is' moved in that direction, means for bringing said siidable block to rest during the reciprocation of said rod in the last mentioned direction, and means for moving said last mentioned means outwardly towards the end oi the machine a predetermined amount between predetermined courses of the knitting.

5. In a fiat knitting machine having carrier rods, carrier rod operating mechanism comprisirm a driving rod, driving blocks fixed thereon, driven blocks slidably mounted thereon, means attached to the driven blocks normally retaining them against said driving blocks, and a multiplicity of driving connections between said driven blocks and said carrier rods each of which is capable of driving a rod in one direction.

6. A fiat knitting machine having thread carrier rods and a coulier cam shaft provided with a cam; carrier rod operating mechanisms according to claim 4 in which the means for bringing the siidable block to rest during the reciproca- .tion of the drive rod consists of a stop adjustable "longitudinally of the path of reciprocation oi the siidable block and engageable with said slidable block.

7. In a flat knitting machine having thread carrier rods, narrowing mechanism and a coulier cam shaft provided with a cam; carrier rod' operating mechanism comprising a drive rod reciprocable by said cam, a block slidably mounted on said drive rod, a drive block fixed to said drive rod so as to drive said siidable block in one direction when said drive rod is moved in that direction,

means attached'to said slidable block to drive it in the other direction when said drive rod is moved in that direction, means for bringing said 5 and proportionately to the corresponding motion of the narrowing mechanism; l

8. In a flat knitting machine having slur cocks, carrier rods and an operating rod for the thread carrier rods; means for reciprocating said operating rod, a drive block fixed to said operating rod, means for reciprocating said carrier rods slidabiy mounted on said operating rod, means for yieldably holding said reciprocating means against said drive block, and a shock absorber in said drive block.

9. In a flat knitting machine having slur cocks, carrier rods and an operating rod for the thread carrier rods;,,means for reciprocating said operating rod, a drive block fixed to said operating rod, means for reciprocating said carrier rods slidably mounted on said operating rod, means for yieldably. holding said reciprocating means against said drive block, and ashock absorber in 80 said reciprocating means. i

10. In a flat knitting machine having a slur cock bar, a thread carrier operating rod, thread carrier rods operated therefrom provided with thread carriers, means for reciprocating said operating rod a fixed distance, means slidably mounted on i said operating rod. and connected to said carrier rods for moving said rods in one direction over varying distances as required for laying the thread for difierent courses by the thread carriers,

' similar and similarly mounted and connected reciprocating means for "driving said carrier rodsin the other direction for similar varying distances, a yielding non-frictional drive for propelling one of said carrier rod reciprocating means in one direction, a similar drive for propelling it in the other direction, and separate non-yielding means for propelling each of said carrier rod reciprocating means in the opposite direction.

11. A fiat knitting machine according to claim 3 characterized in that the carrier rod reciprocating means is provided with means for selecting the carrier rod which it is to reciprocate.

12. A flat knitting machine according to claim 3 characterized in that the carrier rods are provided with stops and the carrier rod reciprocating means is also provided with stops, each of which is engageable with and disengageable from the stop on a difierent carrier rod.

WILLIAM HUG. 

